Joseph w



(Model.) I

J W, KENNA.

lCHILDS CHAIR, FAND UARRIAGE.

No. 249,365.N

Patented Nov. 8,1381.

M WW r h L m dii 0101 sys UNITED STATI-:sy PATEAIT OFFICE.

JOSEPH w. KENNA, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSICNOR OF ONE- HALF` To' neuneu A. HITCHCOCK, or SAME PLACE. p

CHILDS CHAIR; AND CARRIAGE.

SPECIFICATION forming-part of Letters Patent No.. 249,365, dated November 8, 1881.. Application filed May 24, 1880. (Model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. KENNA, of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook and `State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Childrens Chairs and Carriages; andI doliereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the` same, reference beingphad to the accompanying drawings, in whichv Figure l presents a side elevation of my invention when adjusted for use as a chair. Fig. .2 presents a side elevationof the same adjusted for use as a carriage, the rear leg and also the back rail being in part broken away. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the under Side of the seat. The same letters denote the same parts in all the figures. p

lMy invention relates to that class of structnres which are adjustable at pleasure, so as to be either stationary chairs or wheeled carriages; and its object is to make Suchl adjustment safe, convenient, and economical by means of the several devices and combinations of devices, which I will now proceed to describe specifically.

The main frame of the chair has on each side a longer rail, A, and a shorter rail, B, crossing each other atc, where they are pivoted to-V gether, the longer rails A constituting the sides of the back frame and the front feet, while the shorter rails B support the front of the chairbody and constitute the hind feet. 'The shorter rails B, with the exception of a slightbackward curvature at the feet, are nearly Straight until just below the pivoted joint; thence they Vpass upward and forward in a wave-line having its convexity backward in the portion nearest the pivotal point, and forward toward the front end. The longer rails A are nearly straight ,from the top to a point below the chair-bottom thence they curve forward and downward through an arc of about Sixty-live degrees having its concavity forward rather more thanhalf way to their lowerends; thence to the lower ends the curvature is reversed vand takes a longer radius, so as to make an arc of somewhat less .than forty-live degrees. This conformation ofthe rails, which brin gs the pivl otal point farther back than it would otherwise `5o be, and thus lower down on each rail (lowest `on the rails B) and nearer to the points of attachment of the wheels, makes it possible to lock the hind wheels against the rails A, (which are on the inner sides of the rails 13,) when the structure is arranged asa high chair, and also facilitates its transformationinto a carriage without that inconvenient protrusion of the legs front and rear which would be incident to the ordinaryforms. lThe hind wheels, D, whose diameters are aboutthree times as great as those 6o of the forward wheels, D', and whose centers are about four times as far above the ground in the high-chair arrangement of the rails, are connected by. an axle whose ends e project through the`naves of the wheels and are con- 6 5 nected by the scimeter-shapedspringsf to the lower and forward sides of the shorter rails B, the surface ot' attachment being both above and below the pivot. This arrangement, which results naturally from the lowness of thepiv- 7o otal point on the rails B, strengthens the leg in that part where it is subjected to the principal strain. The `forward wheels D are connected by substantially similar springs, f with the lower and backward sides ot' the longer 7 5 rails A. These wheels are so placed that a line drawn from the extremity of the leg and at right angles toits general direction would pass considerably without the circumference of the wheel. The rails A are braced together by 8o stretchers or rounds a, a', anda2,a11d the rails B by similar stretchers, b, b', and b2.. The round ct, in combination with the back rails, A, forms a convenient handle by which the structure can be trundled when used as a carriage, and 8 5 by which it can be readily lifted and moved from place to place when used as a chair.

The chair-body basa back, G, independent of the back rails, A. Its arm-supportsH are firmly attached to the seat I, and extend be- 9o low it to form supports for a foot-rest, J.' They are pivot-ed to the shorter rails B, preferably a little above the Seat, which p gives the carriage-body a lower and more convenient position. On the under side of the seat, near the middle point of its rear edge, is pivoted a short bar, K. To each end of this is attached arod or pin, l, whose length is equal to about half the breadth of the chair-seat. llhe farther end of each rod passes through a collar, m, .at- 10o I tached to the seat. At a point near theinner y side of the Acollar the rod has inserted init one end of a spiral spring, r, which is coiled around the rod for rather less than lhalf the length of the rod, being restrained from going farther by another collar, a. The elasticity of these springs is sufficient, when no repressive force is applied, to push the rods outward, so that their ends will project slightly beyond the sides of the seat. The spring at its attachment to the rod coming against the collar m prevents them from going farther. The bar K then stands at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the rear edge of the seat. Attached to the bar K, however, is a handle, o, which passes up through the chair-seat and behind the chair-back, through an opening in which it has room to turn. A thumb-screw may be conveniently substituted for the handle shown in the drawings. By turning this handle or screw the bar K may be set at right angles to the rear edge of the-seat, so that the rods will be drawn in until their outer ends do not project beyond the sides ofthe seat. Y

On the inner side of each back rail, A, and just above the round a', is attached a stop,P, having on the lower part of its rear edge the wall-like projection q, at right angles to the inner surface of therail, and on its lower edge the shelflike projection q', which extends downward and forward beyond the front edge of the leg. The side of P also has the outward andforward projection p. lt also has a hole corresponding to the socket p in the inner side of A. On the inner side of the same rail, and a littlel above its junction with the shorter rail B, is another stop, r r, projecting forward of the longer rail, and havin gthe projecting portion r bent upward and outward. Near4 the forward end of r', and at a point where the distance from the corresponding projection on the opposite rail is somewhat less than the distance between the extremities of the two rods l when they are forced together, is a hole, y, just large enough to receive the end of the rod l. Around the stretcher b, and directly under the forward part of the chair-seat, are coiled the ends of an elastic wire, s s', the middle part s of' which extends backward and upward in a narrow loop till it touches the under side of the seat at a point considerably back of the center. The stiffness of this wire is sufficient to hold the chair-seat up against the weight of a child. A depression, T, in the under side of the seat admits the coiled.` portion of the wire when the seat is'forced down on the round b. The round b also serves, in connection with the downward extensions of the arm-supports, to prevent the chair-body from tipping forward while in transition from one adjustment to the other, any depression of the front below the back edge of the seat brin ging the extensions against the round, and thus arresting the motion. The round or stretcher b', connecting the shorter rails B just above the pivot C, operates as a stopto prevent the legs from spreading too far, and also, in case the rods l and springs c should fail to operate, from coming too close together. This latter object may also be attained by causing the rear portion of the chair-arms to extend sidewise, so that the distance between their extreme portions shall be greater than that between the two back rails. So far as relates to keeping the two legs in their relative places, the purpose ot the stretcher might be answered by a pin -or lug projecting from the inner side of each leg B.

To adjust the structure for use as a chair simply the chair-bod y, being disconnected from rods lforce them in, so that without the necesp sity of turning the handle 0 the)7 will slip within the longer rails until they come opposite the sockets at p, when the elasticity of the springs c will force them into the sockets, and the chairbody is thus securely locked in position. The contact of the lower extremities of the arm-supports with the cross-bar or round b is an additional safeguard against the chair slipping too far back. The forward motion of the ripper part of the longer rails and the backward motion ofthe upper part ofthe shorter rails bring both into a position more nearly perpendicular, so that the extremities of the legs rest on the ground, and the wheels D and D' are therefore raised slightly above it, so that the chair stands firmly on its legs. In this position the rear wheels, D, are brought into close contact with the lower side of the legs, so as to bc secure against any accidental turning.

To convert this chair into a carriage the handle or screw is turned so 'as to draw the ends of the rods l out of the sockets at p.' The body of the chair is then pushed forward and downward until the'ends of the rods catch in the holes y on the stop r r', the outer extremity of r operating in substantially the same way as p and q', to guide the chair-seat and gradually force in the ends of the rods until they come opposite the holes t, when the chair-body is again securely locked in position, as shown in Fig. 2. The spreading of the legs consequent on the release of the rods from the sockets p lifts their extremities from the ground, so that the structure now rests on the wheels and is converted into a carriage. The elastic wire s s prevents the chair-body from folding suddenly when released from its higher position between the longer rails.

' y In changing from the carriage to the chair adjustment the forward motion of the upper ends of the longer rails, and consequent backward motion of the' front feet is facilitated by IOO IIO

V249,365 Y a their forward wheels, D', which areso placed on the legs as to roll on the ground in the beginning of this motion for some time after the the chair-body, and the sockets p and y, and

guides p', q g ,and r r', arranged as-described, on the rails A, all in combination, substan tially as and for the purpose described.

2. In an adjustable chai-r, the rails B, of the main frameprovided with the stretcher b, in

- combination with a chair-body pivoted in front nation with front Wheels attached to the back` edges of the rails A, and hind Wheels attached to the forward edges of the rails B, and with a chair-body attached in front to the rails B above the pivotal point, and provided at. the back with adjustable catches arranged to engage with stops arranged on therails A at different heights above the same pivotal point,

said rails A havin g' above the pivotal point an inclination considerably less than that of the rails B, substantially as and for the pur-pose described.

4. In a combined chair and carriage, the rails B, shaped as described,`in combination with the yrails A, pivoted thereto crosswse, shaped as described, and having a considerably less inclination above the pivotal point than the rails B, and with the wheels D, attached as described, to the rails B, for the purpose of locking against the rails A when the structure is used as a chair.

5. Acombined chair and carriage having the main supports A and B, 'pivoted at C, a chair-body pivoted to the upper ends of the supports B and otherwise entirely detachable, theeastie wire s s', the pivoted bar K, capable of turning by a handle or screw-rods, l, springs o, and collars m and n, detachably connecting the chair-body with the main supports, and the Wheels D and D attached to the main supports, all inV combination, substan tially as and for the purpose described.

6. In 'a combined chair and carriage, the rails A and B of the main frame, shaped as described and pivoted to each other `crossvvise,

the rails A having a considerably less inclination than B above the pivotal point, in combination with the Wheels D and D', attached to JOSEPH W. BIENNA.

Witnesses:

J No. C. MAcGREGoR, THOMAS H. PEAsE. 

